Hotmail
Messenger
My MSN
MSN Directory
Escape the cold weather in the multiplex
“Children of Men”
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Charlie Hunnam, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Claire-Hope Ashitey
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Story: Set in London in 2027, this film tells the story of a world torn apart by war, famine and global infertility — one in which no human has been born in 18 years. Owen stars as a disillusioned bureaucrat who is convinced by his revolutionary ex-wife (Moore) to help transport a woman (Ashitey), who becomes mysteriously pregnant, to a mysterious sanctuary. Caine co-stars as a pot-smoking hippie that Owen encounters on his journey. Based on the novel by P.D. James.
Buzz: Cuarón (“Y tu Mama Tambien,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) is one of the most underrated filmmakers working right now. He has a way of taking a genre picture (like “Potter”) and reinvigorating it. The Hollywood Reporter wrote of this film, “Alfonso Cuaron takes the classic movie formula of a cynical tough guy required to see an innocent party to safe harbor, and shoots it to pieces.” Of Caine’s performance, critic Emanuel Levy wrote, “Caine shines, giving the film the little warmth and color it has with his wonderfully eccentric turn that should be remembered at Oscar time.”
Web site: http://www.childrenofmen.net
“Notes on a Scandal”
Starring: Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy
Director: Richard Eyre
Story: Blanchett stars as Sheba Hart, the new art teacher at St. George’s school. Another teacher Barbara Covett (Dench) is drawn to her. When Sheba begins an illicit affair with a student (Andrew Simpson), Covett begins to realize the power that knowing that secret gives her. Nighy co-stars as Blanchett’s husband. Based on the Zoë Heller novel, "What Was She Thinking?"
Buzz: Don’t be surprised to see Dench’s name on that Oscar best-actress list. She’s been nominated five times and won once (for an extremely brief performance in “Shakespeare in Love”). Director Eyre is the man behind the very good (worth a rental) “Stage Beauty” and “Iris.” With this film, “Babel” and “The Good German,” Blanchett is having one heck of a year.
Web site: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/notesonascandal/
“Black Christmas”
Starring: Michelle Trachtenberg, Lacey Chabert, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Katie Cassidy, Andrea Martin, Jessica Harmon, Oliver Hudson
Director: Glen Morgan
Story: This remake of the Margot Kidder 1974 cult classic tells the story of a group of sorority sisters whose house is terrorized by a killer during Christmas Break.
Buzz: Our own columnist Dave White is dismayed by this remake. Compare the taglines. In 1974: “If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's On Too Tight!” In 2006: “One Hell Of A Slay Ride!” Doesn’t 1974’s just sound like more fun?
Web site: NA
“Perfume — The Story of a Murder”
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Dustin Hoffman
Director: Tom Tykwer
Story: Based on the best-selling novel by Patrick Suskind, this film tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Whishaw), a man with an uncannily fine-tuned sense of smell, which he uses to create the finest perfumes. In his quest to capture the scent of young womanhood, his work takes a deadly turn. Hurd-Wood plays his ultimate sweet-smelling conquest, while Rickman portrays her protective father. Hoffman plays Grenouille’s mentor.
Buzz: Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”) is known for his visual inventiveness, so expect vivid colors and edits that echo the lead character’s emotional state. Though the film is in English, it was already a huge hit in Germany (Tykwer’s homeland); it didn’t fare quite as well in France. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Tykwer “succeeds reasonably well in achieving what many said was beyond the scope of cinema: conveying the world of scent and smell.”
Web site: http://www.perfumemovie.com/
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
Starring: Maribel Verdu, Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Story: Set toward the end of the Spanish Civil War, this film tells the story of Ofelia (Verdu), a young girl who deals with the world’s strife by creating her own fantasy world. She goes with her pregnant mother to stay with her stepfather (Lopez) an ominous man who lives in the country and works for Franco’s government.
Buzz: Can you say sleeper hit? Del Toro is the man behind fun, inventive films like “Hellboy” and “Cronos” (worth a rental). Salon’s Stephanie Zacharek wrote, “Del Toro's imagery is so vivid and concrete that it's likely to change the color of your sleep.” Film critic Emanuel Levy wrote that the film is “brilliant from first frame to last.” This film also has an opportunity to take home that Oscar foreign-language prize.
Web site: http://www.panslabyrinth.com/
“Factory Girl”
Starring: Sienna Miller, Hayden Christensen, Guy Pearce, Mena Suvari, Jimmy Fallon
Director: George Hickenlooper
Story: Set in 1965, the film tells the story of legendary Edie Sedgwick (Miller), who's just a young student when she heads to New York and meets Andy Warhol (Pearce). The artist promises to make Sedgwick a star, and she explodes on the New York scene but starts to lose her grip on reality. Christensen plays a Bob Dylan-esque singer.
Buzz: According to Hollywood Elsewhere critic Jeffrey Wells, Miller gives an Oscar-caliber performance here. “It's more than convincing,” he wrote of her work in the film, “It's a kind of rebirthing.” L.A. Times Oscar prognosticator Tom O'Neil wrote that because Miller “sacrifices her beauty,” it gives her an edge in the best-actress category. However, this is a year (for a change) with a lot of competitors for that best-actress crown.
Web site: NA
“Miss Potter”
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn, Bill Paterson, Lloyd Owen
Director: Chris Noonan
Story: Zellweger stars as the beloved children’s book author Beatrix Potter in this film that tells the story of how she wrote and published her first book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” McGregor co-stars as her publisher and love interest, Norman Warne, who proposed to her in 1905. Their romance created friction with Potter's family.
Buzz: According to Entertainment Weekly, this film was originally conceived as a musical. Screenwriter Richard Maltby Jr. is well-known for his work with partner David Shire on Broadway musicals, such as “Starting Here, Starting Now” and “Baby.” Though the film is no longer a musical, it does use animated sequences to showcase Potter’s imagination. Noonan is best-known for directing “Babe.”
Web site: NA
“The Dead Girl”
Starring: Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy, Marcia Gay Harden, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Rose Byrne, Giovanni Ribisi, Kerry Washington, Mary Steenburgen, Mary Beth Hurt, Piper Laurie, Nick Searcy
Director: Karen Moncrieff
Story: When a lonesome caretaker (Collette) to an old woman stumbles upon a dead girl’s (Murphy) body, an entire community is shaken by seeing one of their own so terribly brutalized, and it sets off a series of mysteries. A mother (Steenburgen) searches for her own missing daughter, while a wife uncovers her husband’s connection to the murdered girl.
Buzz: Writer-director Moncrieff is the woman who wrote and directed the poetic “Blue Car” (well worth a rental). Collette (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “In Her Shoes”) is one of the most chameleon-like and underrated actresses around — she’s in Streep territory. Washington deserves to get better roles than her almost voiceless wife in “Last King of Scotland” (and do I even need to mention her role in “Little Man”?). Casting directors, get this woman some better parts.
Web site: NA
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
- Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM MOVIE OPINIONS |
 Comic-Con 2008: The empire strikes back |
| Add Movie opinions headlines to your news reader: |